A new short story every day

Gods

Post navigation

It was the worse storm anyone had ever seen. Hurricane winds tore up everything. The rain raged down like an angry heavy metal drummer. Flash floods turned the streets into rivers, sweeping away what the wind had been unable to move. The sea swelled and roared as if Poseidon himself was raising upwards towards the sky. The thunder and lightening clapped together making the very clouds shake, perhaps Zeus was fighting to keep Poseidon down. Whatever was happening, People were sure the Apocalypse had just arrived.

When Zale found him, Hali was standing naked under the waterfall he had created. Zale called out to his twin, but as the name left his mouth he knew Hali wouldn’t hear him. Mumbling a string of swear words, Zale took off his boots and almost all of his clothes. He put his big toe in the water and commanded the river to hold him.

Slowly, he walked on the water’s surface and when he got within the waterfall’s spray, he told the water to stay away from him. He reached out a hand and the curtain of water parted. Hali snapped open his eyes and stared out at him.

‘What are you doing?’ Zale asked.

‘Enjoying a shower,’ Hali replied.

‘I’m sorry things didn’t work out with grandad. Maybe, next time I should go with you.’

‘I’m never going back there,’ Hali cut in with a shake of his head, sending water drops flying, ‘He won’t listen to me, he doesn’t care.’

‘That’s not true!’

‘He can’t do anything, just like we can’t,’ Hali stated and stepped forward.

He came out of the waterfall and stood opposite Zale on a large rock. Water dripped off him and returned back to the river. The sound of the waterfall masked their conversation and air bubbles popped around them. Hali stared at Zale, who reflected him perfectly. It seemed to be only their expressions which were different as Hali looked anger and Zale calm.

‘Then we’ll go and talk to the others,’ Zale suggested, ‘someone else will listen. Maybe we could band together and make him see.’

Hali got out of the river and not carrying about his clothes, set off into the trees. Zale clenching and unclenching his fists decided to let his brother go. Turning away, he put his clothes back on and went to the cabin. There were chores to be done and Hali clearly need to cool off.

Hali enjoyed the feeling of dry soil under his feet, but not the undergrowth that clawed at his skin. He pushed passed it all and found himself going uphill on an old deer track. He followed the track along, not caring where it led too. He just wanted to get away from his twin, his thoughts and himself. The track joined an actual footpath two miles later and Hali followed it around and down back to the river.

Human voices echoed in his ears and he slowed his steps. Keeping hidden in the dense bushes, he peered down at the river and saw a family below him. The mother was sat on the river bank on a blanket and next to a wicker basket. The father was in the river with the three children- one girl and two boys- they were paddling and building a stick structure. A yellow dog appeared from behind a tree, a large stick in its mouth. Hali watched the dog rush into the river, drop the stick and began to bark loudly. Hali cringed away from the noise, but couldn’t take his eyes off the family. The father threw the stick and the dog chased after it, dashing into the undergrown and trees. The man turned back and began helping his children make a dam.

Hali was drawn to turn away, but he ended up watching the family complete the dam and leave. He gave them a good few minutes, before he moved and walked down to where they had been. His body felt stiff from the hour or so of standing still, but he ignored that and came to a stop next to the dam. The barricade of branches let a trickle of water through in places and really it was doing nothing to hold the river back.

He knelt down and began tugging the dam apart. The branches easily give way to his strong hands and he let the river carry them away. The water seemed grateful to have been released and sung merrily to him. Hali finished off breaking the dam and sat back on the grass. The water surged and tumbled on its way.

To Be Continued…

*********

Quick Note.

It’s The Story Files first birthday today! A year ago today I started this blog and published my first story. I’m mega happy that it’s still going strong and I’m still gaining readers/followers. Hopefully I’ll be able to kept it up for another year! I write all of my stories for free and don’t gain any money from doing so nor this blog. All I ask in return is that people like and comment on my pieces and help spreed the word about my blog. You can also do this by following me on twitter and Facebook, linked below. A big thanks to all my followers, let’s keep going!

If you fancy submitting a story to this blog please feel free to do so, the guide lines are here; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/submission-guidelines/

When Hali woke up everything had come back to him. He stayed in the bed, looking up at the ceiling and listening to Zale snoring. Oddly, he also remembered the whole of yesterday and wondered how he could have gotten through it so blindly. Casting his thoughts further back, he saw himself standing beside his great great grandfather, Poseidon, their pleasant conversation falling into a heat debate.

Hali sigh and turned his head into the pillow as he recalled Poseidon’s harsh words, ‘why should I save the sea if the humans are hell bent on destroying it and the rest of the world?’

‘Because, it’s important Grandfather and some of the humans do care,’ Hali had counted back.

‘This world isn’t ours any longer,’ Poseidon had answered thoughtfully, with his free hand running through his long blue-green beard.

‘So, what does it matter that no one believes in you or the other Gods anymore? You still have the right to do something!’

Poseidon shook his great head and clutched his golden trident tighter, ‘it matters.’

Hali groaned into his pillow, not wishing to remember the argument. He got up and went to the bathroom. Splashing water on his face made him feel better. He got dressed and went downstairs without waking Zale. He unlatched the front door and went outside.

The sun was shining in a too blue sky and dappling the tree leaves on the ground. Hali sat on the porch and listened to a breeze rustling the leaves and the distant tumbling of the river. He put his head in his hands and wondered how his grandfather could be so blind to all of this.

If I had it in myself I’d change everything, Hali thought.

He got up and walked towards the river. Birds sung in warning of his approach and darted from the trees as he walked. Far in the distance, he thought he heard the delight cries of humans and a dog barking. Forests were no longer the perfect hiding place. Throwing that thought away, Hali reached the edge of the river and sat down before it.

With his right hand, he reached out across the surface and watched the water eagerly coming towards him. He syphoned more water from the natural course of the river then turned it into a bubbling fountain. The water, happy to do as asked, cascaded down from a single jet and back into the river. Hali dropped his hand and stared into the bubbling depths.

He couldn’t command the sea like Poseidon could, he was only one third God and thus could only bend willing rivers and streams. Hali hung his head and knew he should be grateful for his gift, but it seemed all but useless in the twenty-first century. He thought about how in the past he had wowed crowds with his power to control water. He had given visibility to the water sprites, made huge waterfalls, redirected might rivers away or closer to towns. Now people could do most of that themselves and they now longer believed in the ancient magic.

Hali had watched the humans longer enough to see their fears changing and the old worlds slipping away. Ancient Greece was little more than a few broken statues and buildings, with the imaginations of tourists or children studying history giving but a glimpse of what it once was. He was kidding himself if actually knew that world though. Ancient Greece had already fallen by the time he and his brother were born, they had merely been brought up in the shadows of it.

Hali raised his hand, dismissed the fountain and watched the river get on its way again. He should go wake up Zale and discus what to do. Instead he turned away from that idea and plunged his hand into the river. He pictured a towering waterfall, with the water roaring over the edge and white waves below.

Like this:

Post navigation

Copyright Notice

All the stories on this blog are copyright to The Story Files and Hayley .R. Hardman. Please do not use any story in full or excerpts without permission from me or the original author.
Full credits and links must be given along side the original content.